OPTIMIZATION OF CIVIL ENGINEERING SYSTEMS

ASSIGNMENT

Submitted by: Revanth Nannapaneni B090910CE S8 B-Batch

Q. A rectangular sheet of metal with sides a and b has four equal square portions (of side

d) removed at the corners, and the sides are then turned up so as to form a rectangular
box. Find the depth of the box that maximizes the volume.

Solution:

Fig. 1

Fig.2

Let us consider d be the side of the square portions removed at corners of the rectangle as shown in Fig.1 and folded into a box as shown in Fig.2. As it is asked to maximize the volume of the cube, the objective function is the volume of the cube with a single variable d. Objective function: V = (a-2d) (b-2d)d With constraints: (i) d 0. (ii) b-2d 0 (considering b to be width of sheet, so a > b) (maximize the function)

Therefore, d b To maximize V:

= (a-2d)(b-2d) + d(a-2d)(-2) + d(b-2d)(-2) = 0

4d2 - 2(a+b)d + ab 2ad + 4d2 -2bd + 4d2 = 0 12d2 4(a+b)d + ab = 0

Simplifying, d =

) (

) (

d2V/ dd2 = 24d 2(a+b) this is negative for d =

( ) (

And hence the volume of the box ix maximum for the depth d =

) (